The goal of Hardly Hustle is to provide inspiration, drive and motivation in a 10 minute read or less. What you see is what you get. This is hot off the press without an editing team.
Felicia Trujillo is up.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Felicia Perry Trujillo and I am the founder of Food Seen. Food Seen specializes in social media strategy, management and content and professional photography for the food, beverage and hospitality industries. I am also a founding partner at The Kitchen Raleigh, a collaborative workspace for food and beverage creatives and professionals.
What did it take / how did you get started?
I was a professional event photographer in Los Angeles for 10 years. When I relocated to Raleigh six years ago I ended up doing some food and restaurant photography for a restaurant that my husband was operating. I was contracted to do all of the photography, social media and website updates. After a few short months, other food and beverage businesses started contacting me to handle their social media and photography needs. Six years later we have grown, evolved and worked with hospitality organizations all over the world, including beverage companies, tableware manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, distilleries, hospitality furnishing and more.
What does the future look like for you and your hustle?
I have recently figured out what the future looks like, and what I have discovered is that the future of Food Seen relies on the commitment and talent of my team. We will continue to grow, take on new projects and perpetually challenge ourselves. I cannot, however, scale this business on my own. I have brought on an amazing team of consultants, employees and creative partners to help me grow beyond my wildest dreams.
What drives / motivates you?
I love what I do, I love my clients and I love being creative. When we take on a new type of product or a new client, it's such a great opportunity to learn and stretch myself and my team.
What advice would you give someone interested in doing what you do?
It's harder than it looks. Everyone thinks they can photograph food or do social media posts but it's so much more than that. We spend a lot of time doing deep dives with our clients to understand their objectives before taking on a project. We create strategies, inspiration boards and do lots of research before diving into a project.
What has been the hardest part of the hustle?
My biggest challenges have been administrative hurdles. Hiring, training and managing employees; managing client expectations; managing finances, cash flow and most of all, owning my value.
What are a few resources that you'd recommend?
My favorite recent audiobooks are You Are a Badass, The Courage to be Disliked and right now I am listening to Profit First - which I wish I had discovered when I launched Food Seen.
My favorite podcast is How I Built This
The STATS
Side or full-time hustle?
This started as a hustle and evolved into a fully operational business
List the founders
Felicia Perry Trujillo
How many hours a week do you work on this hustle?
It's on my mind 24/7
# of Employees?
1 full time, 2 part time and contractors
When did you start?
March 2014
How much did it cost to launch?
Nothing
What were your funding methods and ballpark amount raised?
Bootstrapping. It started is a single photo shoot and evolved, project by project.
Annual Revenue?
Not disclosed.
Projected Revenue?
Not disclosed.
Any call to action?
None provided.
Social:
Insta: @foodseennc and linkedin: Felicia Perry Trujillo